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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. scale — in music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spring — of water
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spring — the season
  12. game — wild animals
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. bark — to shout
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. toast — bread
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com